A Renfrew man has admitted breaking into a flat and stealing a paintball gun and PlayStation during a heroin-fuelled rampage.
Nicky McGarrell was high on the Class-A drug when he broke into Craig Gemmell’s flat in Johnstone’s Kilbarchan Road on February 26, 2019.
The 32-year-old smashed a window at Gemmell’s property, broke the locks off the window and trashed the flat in a bid to find items worth pinching.
McGarrell, who was of Johnstone’s High Street in 2019, made off with almost £800 worth of tech gadgets and a paintball gun – which have never been recovered.
Procurator fiscal depute David Gallagher told Paisley Sheriff Court the incident was captured on CCTV at a nearby convenience store.
Mr Gallagher explained: “Around 10pm, the owner of the flat, Mr Gemmell, locked and secured his property and left to go stay overnight at his mother’s house.
“The CCTV shows three individuals walk towards the property and stop outside. The accused then runs away before returning to the property.
“All three individuals are then seen to walk away with the accused carrying a black bag in one hand and a paintball gun in the other hand.
“Around 2pm the following day, Gemmell returned home and noticed his front window was smashed and the locks were broken off. On entering the property, he immediately noticed the flat was a mess and the cupboards were lying open.
“Gemmell noted items missing including a PlayStation 4 and controllers, a virtual reality headset, two PlayStation games, a tablet device and a paintball gun. The value of the goods stolen was around £780. Gemmell informed his landlord and they contacted the police.
“Officers attended and observed the damage to the window and then viewed the convenience store’s CCTV. The accused was later traced, arrested, taken to Govan police station where he replied, ‘no comment’ to caution and charge. There was no recovery of the stolen items.”
Defence solicitor Charlie McCusker told the court that, at the time of the incident, McGarrell had a “very bad heroin habit”. However, he has since “turned a corner”.
Mr McCusker explained: “The three people involved all had habits. They knew the person who owned the flat, they were all known to each other.
“Due to being heavily under the influence of his bad habit, he has very little recollection of events. This wasn’t a quiet break-in, there was shouting and panic.
“He has since broke the cycle and is on a methadone programme and attends counselling. There were three people involved in this incident, as referred to in the CCTV.
“[One of the people] has now died following a drug overdose and the other individual remains outstanding.”
Sheriff Clair McLachlan deferred sentence for the preparation of a criminal justice social work report until March 10. McGarrell, now of Victoria Drive in Renfrew, had his bail continued meantime.
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